Hutch School meets SeaWorld in Seattle

For some lucky students a recent visit to Marriott's Residence Inn meant close encounters with a red kangaroo, an alligator and a screamer (oh my)

April 19, 2010

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By Christi Ball Loso

This red kangaroo is a mom and had a baby in its pouch on the day of the visit. It is the largest species of kangaroo and is native to the deserts of Australia.

Photos by Dean Forbes

For students from Hutch School a journey this month to SeaWorld was as close as a field trip to Residence Inn by Marriott—Seattle Downtown/Lake Union.

SeaWorld came to Seattle as part of a promotional tour highlighting the park's education and conservation programs. In addition to providing accommodations, Residence Inn staff arranged for Hutch School students to meet the animal experts and have unique up close encounters with the critters, which included a red kangaroo, kinkajou, an alligator, a screamer and a roseate spoonbill.

The Hutch School is a fully accredited K-12 school program sponsored by the Hutchinson Center and Seattle Public Schools. Its mission is to serve patients (and their family members) receiving treatment at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

The kinkajou, a member of the raccoon family, can be found in the rainforests of South America. It has a seven-inch tongue designed to lick nectar from flowers.

This alligator is just a baby at five years old; he’ll be ten feet long when he grows up. Gators have clear eyelids that serve as goggles underwater.

The screamer can be found in Argentina; the name comes from the sound the creature makes upon encountering anything new or potentially threatening.

Roseate spoonbills are found on the Gulf Coast; they use their bills to scoop through mud for food.